


Exit, exile

by lovestillaround



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Airplanes, Airports, Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 18:12:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14266743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovestillaround/pseuds/lovestillaround
Summary: Dan and Phil meet at the airport





	Exit, exile

**Author's Note:**

> huge thanks to [the-wakeless](https://the-wakeless.tumblr.com/) for beta reading! <3

  
They met at the airport. Okay, not exactly met. Dan saw him at the airport. A man with black hair, pale skin and a purple suitcase that was standing maybe fifty feet away and checking something on his phone. That was him.

Dan came a little closer and saw that stranger’s hands seemed very delicate and his skin looked even paler from a near distant, almost white, which created a nice contrast with his dark hair. He had a serious expression as if something bad had happened and he looked a bit as if maybe he had gotten lost. Dan turned around not wanting to get caught weirdly staring and his heart started beating faster, without a proper reason. He never knew what to do with himself, he always looked awkward and out of place.

Also, he was way too tall. Dan always thought one of his main dysfunctions was his height which was far above the average. He didn’t like it, he didn’t like standing out and getting noticed by people and he didn’t like that he needed to look down at most of them. It was silly but he always felt like he was being conceited. He had the peculiar urge to apologize for the genes that made him this big, as if that was something he had an influence on.

He decided to sit down because he really didn’t want to get noticed by the guy. The stranger didn’t move from where he was standing, and Dan had a quite good view of him from his seat. He pretended to do something on his phone but he looked up every now and then to glance at this man, who seemed to be magnetic for some reason. And then Dan started imagining things.

 

 

_The stranger came up to him._

_“Excuse me.”_

_Dan looked up._

_“It’s the first time I’m at an airport and I need some help.”_

_Dan thought that it was strange. This guy seemed older than him and he has never been on a plane before? He didn’t look poor. Maybe he was just afraid of flights._

_“Are you afraid of flights?”_

_The stranger blushed, his cheeks got pink within a few seconds. It was nice to see a colour on his skin other than white._

_“Well, to be honest, yes. But I just don’t know what to do. Where should I go? What should I do with my luggage? I’m sorry if this is weird.”_

_“No, it isn’t.”_

_“I don’t want to bother you.”_

_“You aren’t.”_

_And Dan showed him everything. They small-talked while walking around the airport, their shoulders brushing from time to time when they accidentally got too close. Accidentally. Because it was not that Dan liked this guy. Of course he didn’t like him, not this way. They were only strangers._

 

 

They actually met on the plane. Dan couldn’t believe it at first as he saw this already so familiar man standing in the same line during the check-in. He still looked scared and pale and he was nervously adjusting his hair every now and then. They were separated only by a few people and Dan started regretting that he hadn’t come up to him earlier. Now he didn’t have a chance to talk to him anymore.

Except that he did get another chance. Apparently, the universe decided to bless Dan because as they got on the plane, it turned out that they were sat next to each other.

Dan was in his seat already when this man appeared, all pale and beautiful, just as earlier. And then he was closer and closer, he entered the same row of seats and didn’t stop until he reached the one right next to Dan. At this point Dan thought he could get a heart attack just from this, he frowned and started blinking, as if in the hope that the rapid movement of his eyelashes would create some wind and blow this man away.

_What is wrong with me,_ he asked himself but his inner demons didn’t provide him with an answer. They were laughing at him right now, he was sure. He almost heard giggling in his head.

Stranger’s hands were shaking slightly as he was adjusting the seat belt. Dan instinctively wanted to reach out and help him but stopped in the last moment, when his arm was already lifted a bit.

_I’m going crazy,_ he thought. He had never behaved like this, like such a creep. He needed some distraction, that was it. Concentrating on breathing seemed like the best idea, so Dan just kept his gaze glued to the seat in front of him, trying to ignore everything that was happening to his right.

It shouldn’t have been hard because the man was sitting still but Dan couldn’t get him out of his head. After a moment of hesitation, he took a risk and glanced quickly at him. He still looked scared but Dan could be wrong about that, it was hard to read from his profile.

“Is that your first time on a plane?” he asked barely realising that the words were leaving his mouth, that he was speaking and not just thinking.

The man didn’t react at first but he must have noticed that Dan was staring at him. That’s when their eyes met for the first time and at the exact same moment, Dan felt a wave of intense heat rushing through his body. Holy shit, his eyes were so pretty, the gaze was so much more intense than Dan could ever imagine. He wanted this plane to collapse right after the departure because he was sure he couldn’t stand sitting beside this magnet-of-a-person for one and a half hours straight.

“What? No. No, why do you think so?”

His voice. His voice was so perfect and Dan wanted him to never stop talking, he wanted to bask in that sound forever. But then the stranger was looking at him expectantly which reminded Dan that he needed to answer the question.

“I saw you at the airport and you looked a bit lost,” he said without a second thought, only realising afterwards that it sounded quite creepy. And probably not very nice. Did he just fuck up everything with this once remark? Fuck.

“Oh.” The man touched his hair, nervously. Dan knew this movement already, it was the same kind of tick he had noticed when they were at the airport. He looked down and then at Dan again and, surprisingly, there was no fear in his eyes this time. Maybe just a bit of uneasiness. “No, it isn’t my first time. I’m just… I’m just like that.”

Dan felt his heart drop. He really was being unpleasant when he pointed out his nervousness.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to sound rude.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize.”

His voice was much quieter this time and he turned around not looking at Dan anymore. Dan couldn’t stop staring at him though, he couldn’t leave it like this, he didn’t want to make this guy feel bad.

“I’m really sorry.”

Their eyes connected again and Dan stopped breathing for a moment.

“It’s okay,” the man said, this time smiling a bit.

“I’m Dan.”

Jesus, he was such a creep. The guy obviously didn’t want to talk with him anymore but Dan just kept pushing.

“Hi. I’m Phil.”

But Phil was still smiling and maybe that meant that there was some hope for Dan and he found himself relaxing a bit. Now he also noticed that Phil’s face was really nice. He had a sharp jawline and visible cheekbones. His lips were light pink and full and his eyebrows had quite an unusual shape but it wasn’t anything bad – he looked just good. So good.

“So why are you here? Are you visiting your family in Germany, going on a vacation?”

Dan thought for a second that he was hallucinating. Phil was actually talking to him, he was asking him questions. Was that a dream? It seemed like a dream.

“I’m starting a new life.”

Phil’s expression changed and he looked surprised. Well, maybe it wasn’t clever of Dan to answer in this exact way. But it was true, Dan really was starting a new life.

“In Cologne?”

“Yes.”

Dan needed to learn how to talk with people. Why was is so hard? He didn’t know what to say. Would it be okay if he just started talking about his life? Was Phil even interested in that?

“I have an aunt there,” he added as if that was a valid reason to move to another country. Phil nodded though. Dan decided to change the subject for now, he certainly wasn’t any good at discussing personal topics.

“And you?”

“Oh, I’m there for work. I’m there quite often actually.”

Dan thought something must have been wrong with his brain because he immediately and blindly took this statement for an invitation.

“Do you want to meet?”

Dan bit his tongue. Why? Why was he like this?

“I mean… I mean, I have no one there, except for my aunt. But she’s like - an old woman.”

Oh god, Dan was terrible. It hadn’t even been five minutes and he was already asking this guy out. Why did he want to ask him out so badly anyway? He looked nice, yes, but was that a valid reason to act like this? Or maybe it was something else, something Dan didn’t understand yet.

“I am quite busy…”

“Oh.”

“…but I’ll find some time.”

It felt like fireworks exploding in his heart. Dan couldn’t believe that Phil actually agreed to this.

“Really? That’s great.”

Phil laughed shortly. Dan didn’t know why but to be able to hear this laugh felt like a blessing.

“I am actually quite lonely, too. I mean - when I’m in Cologne. I have lots of friends in London but I’m staying in Germany for two weeks and it’s quite sad to be there all alone.”

“Yeah.”

Apparently, Dan has lost the ability to speak. Great. He tried to think of any question that he could ask and that would save him from this embarrassment but the only one that came up to his mind was boring and rather obvious.

“Do you live in London?”

Phil’s smile got bigger and his hand travelled to his hair once again.

“Yes, I love this city.”

“I used to live in London, too. Before I decided to move to Germany.”

Dan wasn’t sure why he was talking about that. There was just something about this Phil, something that was making Dan grow calm and feel more secure.

“Oh. And why did you decide to do that?”

Phil’s tone of voice didn’t contain even the slightest note of judgement which encouraged Dan to tell him more.

“I hated my life. I was studying law and it was absolutely horrific. I couldn’t get along with people and I decided that maybe if I completely changed my surroundings, things would get better.”

Phil’s eyes became sad.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

There was a moment of silence before he continued.

“I wish you all the best. I’m sure that it will get better.”

It sounded honest and Dan needed to stop the tears suddenly coming to his eyes. _I’m sure that it will get better._ No one had said that to him recently. Everyone thought that Dan was crazy, that dropping out of university was a terrible idea and that it was going to ruin his life. He didn’t want to disappoint his family but it was making him sad that other people didn’t even try to understand what he was going through. Dan wanted to live his life and he wanted others to accept his decisions. He wanted his family to believe in him, not doubt in him and judge him. Was it weird that he has found what he needed in this stranger? Or was it just sad?

“Thank you,” he whispered, feeling emotional.

They heard a security announcement and needed to stop talking for a moment but the conversation continued after that. They discussed Phil’s job and what Dan was up to after arriving in Cologne. They talked about where they could meet which turned out to be quite an issue since they both didn’t really know the city, especially when it came to cafes and restaurants. Dan shared some anecdotes about his aunt and everything seemed to be just fantastic.

There was only one thing that was worrying Dan, one thing that he couldn’t really get out of his head. Phil lived in London. Phil lived in a city that Dan had just decided to leave forever.

Had he made a mistake? Was his family right? Dan suddenly became very unsure of his own choice. Was Germany the right place for him? He didn’t even know fucking German, except for some curse words. Maybe he was indeed being very naive, thinking that he could start a new life there and that everything would be good.

But, if Dan hadn’t gotten on this plane, he would have never met Phil. Jesus, he was such a mess. He didn’t even know what Phil thought or felt about him. Maybe he was just being polite. Maybe he felt some sympathy toward Dan and had decided to talk to him out of pure decency.

There was one little detail that calmed Dan a bit. When it was almost time for the plane to land, Phil reached out his hand and laid in on top of Dan’s. It was so surprising that he didn’t even have a chance to react before the hand was gone.

“It was really nice to meet you, Dan.”

Phil’s eyes were shining and they were asking Dan if that gesture was okay. Or at least that’s what Dan saw.

“It was nice to meet you too, Phil.”

In a sudden influx of courage, Dan placed his hand on Phil’s shoulder, the touch lingering just a little, so that the message would hopefully be clear. Phil gave him a big smile in response and Dan took it for a good sign.

 

 

The thought that they were about to go separate ways was unpleasant. They were at the airport, waiting for the luggage to arrive, and Dan wanted to do something, say something, for some reason he didn’t like the vagueness that settled between them. He wanted to kiss Phil or take his hand or hug him and he needed to convince himself that this wasn’t a good idea, that it wasn't reasonable at all. His chest clenched as he saw Phil taking his purple suitcase.

“Dan?”

“Yeah?”

Phil’s face was just the same, and his gentle smile and intense eyes were the only things that mattered to Dan at the moment.

“Goodbye.”

“Uhm, see you!” Dan waved his hand and kept staring even after Phil turned around.

Dan had never believed in supernatural forces. Still, as he was watching Phil receding toward the exit of the airport, a weird feeling overcame him, as if everything that just happened was only a dream. And for a moment - for a very short moment - he wasn’t sure if Phil was just a product of his imagination or if he was a real person that Dan was going to meet again in a couple of days.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](https://lovestillaround.tumblr.com/)


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